September 3, 2024
By Aaron Weaver
DECATUR, Ga. — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship mourns the death of emeritus field personnel Earl Martin, who passed away at his home Aug. 23 after a 14-month battle with cancer. Earl and his wife, Jane, were part of the first class of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel commissioned in May 1993. Martin was instrumental in leading CBF Global Missions to form a team of field personnel to reach the Romany people.
A Baptist missionary for 32 years, the Martins served as missionaries in East Africa from 1957-1977, in Rwanda from 1977-1982 and to the European Baptist Federation in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, from 1987-1994.
In 1957, the Martins helped found Baptist mission work in Kenya and Tanzania through the Foreign Mission Board. Their first ministry established a community center and church in a slum area of Nairobi. Later, they co-founded the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Arusha, Tanzania.
In 1982, Martin was invited to teach missiology and world religions on the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and in 1987, they were appointed to serve as the founding Director of the Institute for Mission and Evangelism on the faculty of the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. Martin’s teaching career spanned 50 years and also included positions at Carson-Newman University (Tenn.) and B.H. Carroll Theological Institute (Texas).
Following their retirement from CBF Global Missions in 1994, Earl and Jane became the Fellowship’s first emeritus missionaries. In retirement, the Martins continued their service to CBF Global Missions as volunteer prayer coordinators for the Romany Team, which grew into the Gypsy Cluster and included the Banjara Team (India), Dom Team (Middle East/North Africa) and the Romany Team (Europe). In 1998, the Martins began publishing and mailing a bi-monthly Gypsy Ministries Newsletter and assisted with the launching of the Gypsy Ministries Newsletter in 2002.
CBF field personnel Mary VanRheenen, a member of the Romany Team alongside her husband Keith Holmes, noted in their volunteer role as prayer coordinators Earl and Jane traveled to speak on behalf of the Gypsy Cluster in churches and at state/regional meetings, and attended Cluster/Team meetings at their own expense.
“Earl and Jane played a significant role in our own call to missions,” VanRheenen said. “They spoke in our home church while we were going through the candidate process and unintentionally confirmed our own call to serve with the Romany Team. Earl never stopped teaching, mostly by an example which taught lessons deeper than words.”
“They were an ongoing encouragement to all of us,” she added. “When we were on home assignment, their home was always open to any of us who traveled through their region. They also graciously arranged for us to speak in their home church and in other churches.”
Retired Romania-based CBF field personnel Ralph and Tammy Stocks paid tribute to Martin and emphasized his passion for missions and support to young field personnel.
“When Earl and Jane joined the CBF Romany Team, they immediately became treasured members,” shared Ralph and Tammy. “They listened with empathy and understanding to members of the team sharing their challenges and frustrations and successes. Earl told many personal experiences of his various roles on the mission field that were enlightening and encouraging to young field personnel. These were offered with humility and humor.”
“Earl and Jane were dearly loved. They welcomed us into their stateside home and doted on us. Earl was the supreme example of a godly man with a lifelong passion for missions. We rejoice that he is exactly where his life’s journey was committed.”
Martin was preceded in death by his parents Luther and Maude Martin, his siblings Florence Sinclair, Evelyn Rawlings, Eleaner Snyder, and Lu Martin.
A memorial service will be held September 23 at 11am at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in his memory to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: https://cbf.net/give or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 160 Clairemont Avenue, Suite 300, Decatur, GA 30030, 800-352-8741.
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In 2016, Earl and Jane Martin contributed a chapter to the book CBF at 25 celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Below is their story:
Keeping the Promises at Rüschlikon
By Earl and Jane Martin
We felt betrayed! It was a blatant breach of promise. The Southern Baptist Convention had pulled the rug out from under Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. In December 1991, the SBC’s Foreign Mission Board suddenly withdrew its financial support by unilaterally rescinding its 15-year funding commitment to the seminary.
When this happened, we had been serving as Southern Baptist missionaries for more than 30 years. The first 25 years in Eastern Africa were followed by five years in Europe, where we served in a dual capacity. On the Rüschlikon Seminary faculty, Earl taught courses in missiology and world religions. At the same time, we directed the Institute of Mission and Evangelism for European Baptists, which involved conducting short courses in missions and world religions among European Baptist churches. Many courses were in the Communist bloc prior to its downfall. The direction and policies of the control- minded Foreign Mission Board had changed intolerably to something beyond authentic mission endeavor. We registered our protest by an immediate request for retirement.
Despite our sense of betrayal, neither we nor our Rüschlikon colleagues yielded to panic. Assurance came from faithful Baptists who promised to fill the gap for us. The fledgling Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was already in place.
Retirement from the Foreign Mission Board did not mean our service in Europe was finished. We sensed that our mission was yet to be fulfilled. European Baptists agreed, requesting that we remain both on the faculty and with the Institute. However, we needed a support base. We immediately requested to join CBF’s new venture in missions, and in due course our request was approved. We were officially commissioned at the 1993 CBF General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama. The Rüschlikon Seminary also was not left in the lurch. On March 1, 1992, 50 sympathetic Baptists from the United States arrived on campus to offer earnest encouragement. There was a rousing chorus of support in the chapel service when CBF Moderator John Hewett delivered a resounding affirmation of reinforcement. The presentation of a batch of checks from churches and individuals totaling nearly $250,000 was a tangible sign of support.
Next, Hewett invited the mission personnel serving at the seminary to come front and center. The 50 CBF representatives encircled the missionaries, laying hands on them while Hewett offered a commissioning prayer. It was an epiphany. The seminary would not be abandoned!
Since retiring from Europe in 1995, we have continued to be wholehearted advocates on behalf of CBF missions and ministries. From our European experience, we gained a deep compassion for the greatly marginalized Roma people. We gave strong encouragement to the Fellowship-supported ministry of the Ruth School in Bucha- rest, Romania, in its early years. Three years after retiring, in 1998, we volunteered to serve as the national prayer coordinators for CBF’s Roma ministries. For the next eight years, we were associated with the cluster of field personnel serving among the Roma.
CBF’s efforts to be the presence of Christ around the world through global missions and other manifold ministries continue to inspire our enthusiastic support at the local church level.